Lebanese forces prepared to repel Israeli attacks against Hezbollah

A bus that was damaged in a bomb blast on July 18. Photo by REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov

Lebanon’s army is prepared to defend the country following Israel’s claim that the Iran or its allies such as Hezbollah carried out the deadly terrorist bombing in Bulgaria.

Wednesday’s explosion outside Sarafovo Airport in Burgas killed five Israeli tourists, a Bulgarian bus driver and the suspected suicide bomber. More than 30 Israelis were injured.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak have blamed Iran or its allies for the attack. The Lebanon-based Hezbollah, which gains its military supplies from Iran, has denied responsibility.

The attack was carried out by “Hezbollah, the long arm of Iran,” Netanyahu said at a press conference in Jerusalem, according to The New York Times.

Gen. Jean Kahwagi, the Lebanese army commander, discussed with senior army officers on Thursday “the need to be cautious and always ready ... to defend the southern border against any Israeli attack,” according to the Beirut-based The Daily Star.

Kahwagi, addressing the uprising in neighboring Syria, also stressed “need to maintain the path of civil peace and control the Lebanese border in the north and the Bekaa to ensure the protection of the people of these areas,” according to the newspaper.

Lebanese troops must “immediately confront any attack on Lebanese amy bases regardless of where it comes from,” he reportedly added.

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